Construction to Begin Soon on Streetcar Line Through the Marigny

Construction to Begin Soon on Streetcar Line Through the Marigny

NEW ORLEANS (WGNO) – It’s almost here! Construction is expected to begin this fall on a new streetcar line set to run through the French Quarter and the Marigny.

“Folks should see shovels in the ground very soon,” Patrice Bell Mercadel, director of communications and marketing for the RTA told WGNO.

The new line will run alongside the French Quarter and Treme on north Rampart Street. Then shift over to St. Claude Avenue near the Marigny running all the way to Elysian Fields.

When it’s finished the new streetcars will look much like the Canal Street line with cherry-red streetcars.

But don’t expect to hop on the new line anytime soon. Bell Mercadel says sometime in 2016 streetcars will roll after 18-months to two years of road construction.

“We are extremely excited about this,” Bell Mercadel says. “This is a line that will really bring greater transportation access to a historic neighborhood in New Orleans.”

If you would like to help build the new line one of the proposed contractors for the project is looking to hire sub-contractors. A meeting will be held tonight at 6 p.m. at Dillard University for those interested.